One Moment Broken
by Liriell
Summary: He learned how fragile a moment can be and the cost he had to pay for the mistake he had done. She didn't hate him, she just hated the decision he made for both of them, searching comfort in another's arm on the most important day of their lives.


Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot and a few charaters

It was hard to believe. The room was so empty. He couldn't remember how empty it looked, not until they moved in together or rather... wanted to move in together. And neither had he realized how much of space a woman could actually occupy. He didn't want to know how their- his closet looked like.

Dejected he slumped down on his couch.

How could it have come so far? he wondered. With a frustrating sigh, he went through his hair with his hand. This wasn't right. This was not how he imagined his life to turn out. He shouldn't be here, sitting in their blank living room, while workers were moving her things out into the moving van she ordered.

"If there is something you want to say, then please do so." He jerked his head up and looked to the window, where she was standing in front of.

The rays of the sun fell through the thick glass, illuminating her hair, thus making it shine like a halo. She looked exactly like the angel she was. Her beauty was ethereal, he loved her mahogany hair, her pale skin, which seemed to glow and mostly, he loved her eyes, wherein seas raged and desire flamed. The very eyes that were now staring blankly through the window.

Edward felt the desire to turn her around, making her face him. He wanted to see those brown eyes shine with love for him; he wanted to see the adoration he was used to. He would even be happy to see him angry at him, but not this.

"They said they were done with packing everything into the van." he said. Did she even hear him? If, then she did not show it.

"- Bella"

"Then I guess, I will be going now." she replied to him. Even her voice was void of emotions. Edward watched her turn around and walk towards him, never deigning to look at him. When she was about to walk past him, his hands reached out to hers, holding her wrist in his firm fist.

"Would you listen to me?" he asked, his voice showing clearly how near he was the verge of breaking down.

"Why would I do that? You showed me what you think of me, what you are feeling for me, in a way that needs no more words." she answered emotionless, while trying to free her wrist from him. "How is the saying? Action speaks louder than words, your spoke volumes and I am not deaf nor am I blind. You are hurting me." Finally, she got rid of his hold on her, but not thanks to her own strength, but rather because he let go of her.

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"You have a nice way of showing this." she whispered and took a few steps back and with each step, his heart ached a little bit more.

"Please-" when he took one step towards her, she took two back. "Bella, don't... don't distance yourself from me."

"I don't have any other choice." she said and it was the first time, since yesterday that she showed any emotion in front of him, although a part of him wished, she did not. Her eyes were glassy, her tone was sad.

"Yes, yes you have." Now she couldn't back away anymore. Her back had met the cold wall and she was already pressing so hard against it that there is no more room left.

"Don't go away." he whispered. "Stay here, with me. Don't move away... from me." She closed her eyes, he hoped it was because she was contemplating about his offer, but when she opened them again and looked directly into his eyes, he knew he hoped too much. Her eyes, the window to her soul, told him everything. It showed sadness, a broken love and in other words, _rejection_.

"No." She shook her head. "This is not my choice. This is yours. You know how it goes, we are punished through our actions. This..." she looked around, facing nothing but the empty space, which used to be a lively place. "... this is all yours. You were the one to make this decision."

"You hate me, don't you... You want to punish me, for doing this, for humiliating you in front of them." she shook her head. "What do I have to do? Do you want me to tell you sorry? I will. Do you want me to beg? What do you want me to do? I will do anything, trust me. Everything, if to start again."

"No, Edward."

"Why? I will-"

"I already told you. I am not the one punishing you, this is all yours. I... and I don't hate you."

"You still love me?" he asked, barely in a whisper. If he said it too loud, he may cut it. Whatever he will cut, he did not know, but he felt the fragility of this moment.

"I don't hate you." she repeated, not meeting his actually question. "I... I just hate the decision you made and maybe a bit for making this decision without me. Because it affects me, too." she whispered. Silence filled the room and suddenly, it didn't feel so empty anymore. Edward felt it, the broken air surrounding them, the guilt lying on his shoulder and the warmth radiating from her. They were suffocating him. His heartbeat was all he heard through the fragility and the silence. Blood pumped through his body. He was trembling.

Bella slowly raised her hand, slowly cupping his cheek.

It was their first touch for what seemed like an eternity for him. He was denied of her touch for a day and it was already killing him. How could he go on without her for... the rest of his life?

The thought scarred him. This was his greatest fear. He wouldn't stand this. To never be able to be with her again, to get rich on her beauty, to hear her laughter, see her smile in the morning and kiss her good night. Those small things, they meant everything to him.

Out of fear, he closed his eyes, leaning into her hand. Denial was in the moment the best way to deal with his blank future. To pretend as if this was the one and only moment in his life, that this is the way they will stay for eternity.

"It affects me so much." he heard her small voice reaching him in the darkness. He should open his eyes, try to look into her eyes, even if he did not deserve to. But he was a coward, thus hid in the darkness, for he knew, if he saw her, he would also see the tears which were about to come. It was enough for him to hear them in her voice.

"My heart, it aches, since the moment I saw you..." she abruptly halted. Edward pressed his eyes together. No, he must no open his eyes. But maybe, it wasn't the best solution, since it only resulted in his tears falling down from his eyes. He felt his forehead pulled against him. "Barely a day has gone by... the wound is as fresh as ever. I can't face you, I can't be with you right now. I need some time... I need space, away from you, just away from you..." Edward could feel her hot and heavy breaths again his lips. So near, yet so far away.

It was funny how even in the darkness, her pain was able to reach him, turning hers into his pain as well.

* * *

><p><em>People were running past him, none of them took notice of the man in the suit, sitting near the bar. He watched the waiters hurrying from one place to the other, the guests speaking loudly and full of excitement. He closed his eyes and tried to get focused, but it was so hard. <em>

_The loud voices echoing in the halls, the throb in his head, he felt numb. _

_Everything was overwhelming him. _

_Why was he doing this? What was the purpose for this event? _

_He didn't know. _

_He stared intently into his glass, he had yet to decide whether it was half-empty or half-full, while swirling the golden liquid around. Maybe it was the event, or what it stood for, what he was about to gain and to lose. Or maybe it was just the stress that had been building up since a whole year. The finality of this situation, which was getting out of control or just out of his mind. He felt like suffocating. _

_And then he saw her. The girl with the brunette hair. She was standing in front of him, flashing him an inviting smile. He smiled back. This was all she needed to sit down next to him. Neither of them said anything she just placed a hand on his thigh, giving him a comforting squeezing, pretending as if she knew what he was feeling in that moment. _

_But instead, he just appreciated what was given to him. _

_Before he could even realize what he was doing, he found his lips on hers. _

_He needed comfort. _

_And he delved into her and the solace she gave him. _

* * *

><p>Edward would never forget those moments. The images were running through his mind.<p>

He knew what she meant. He could feel her hurt...okay maybe he could not, but he had seen it. The way her eyes looked for a moment, when she had caught him with the waitress. The short flash of pain which was soon replaced by indifference, was enough to brand him for eternity. It was as if he had seen the pain of the whole world and in a way, it was the pain of his world, because she **was** his world.

Edward could still remember the disappointment, in all of their eyes. And he could also remember the way she had turned around, acting was if nothing had happened. Indifferent. She walked away from him, from the ceremony, without one look back. He could also see how her back, her frame covered in a beautiful white dress growing smaller and smaller until she stepped out of the door, closing the leafs. The sound of them closing, it was still ringing in his ears, it symbolized the sound of his world shattering and his heart break. The end.

It was the same thing he was experiencing now. Only now he knew he would never see her again. It was their last chance, their last meeting. He just knew that they wouldn't meet each other again for a long time. If the fates were nice enough to him.

And if there was really something like Karma, he would never see her again or ... even worse, after it was too late, when she was married to a man, who deserved her and could give her the happiness he promised but never kept.

The branded man turned around. He couldn't see her walk away from him again.

The door creaked.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure?" she asked.<p>

"I am here, am I not? There is no turning back, anymore."

"You can always turn back. The choice is yours, it's your life. Don't do something-"

"-reckless? Stupid? Rash? Is that what you wanted to say?"

"I just want the best for you." Rosalie said, placing one hand on her shoulder.

"I know, but like I said. I can't turn back." Bella kept her eyes on the moving van in front of her. "Unlike him, I am not someone, who likes to keep my options open. If I want to be able to let go, I have to close the door, so that nothing will come out of my closed past anymore. Otherwise, it would come back and bite me in the ass, sooner or later."

"..Bella?"

"It hurts, you know." Bella whispered. "It hurts as much as the moment the curtain was lifted and I found him..."

"It's okay." With her hand she rubbed Bella's arm up and down, trying to soothe her.

"I mean, why did he have to do this? Couldn't he at least have said that he didn't want to marry me? Instead of humiliating me, us! In front of everyone? Do you know how humiliation this is, Rosalie? I felt like an idiot!" she cried. "I really thought he loved me, that he wanted to marry him. But maybe... everything was just my imagination. I thought we were happy, was this a lie, too? I don't know. The more I think about our relationship, I think that I was the only one who wanted this. It was me, who pushed him this far."

"It's not your fault."

"If I had seen this sooner, if I had realized earlier that there was no future for me, before getting too involved with him, then maybe it wouldn't ache so much." Bella closed her eyes and sunk into her seat, while pulling her legs close to her chest. "It was so hard, walking away from him and trying to keep the strong facade on. My eyes... my throat was having this big lump, I thought I couldn't breath, the air was pulling out of my lungs and my eyes were burning, trying to get free from the tears."

"Sweetie, it's okay. You are here, moving from him, far away from him. You are not there, anymore." she patted her knee. Bella took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Well... I think he is an ass? What else should I think of that worthless piece of-"

"Do you think, he loved me? Even if only just a bit? Please, tell me the truth, no matter how brutally. Just be honest, I deserved this..." she whispered.

"You are right, Bella. You do deserve my honesty, even if not from him." Rosalie sighed. She had really contemplated on whether she should lie. "I don't think he loved you." Bella choked. "I **know** he loves you, yes, present. Maybe you haven't seen it, maybe your eyes are clouded right now, but I know that everyone else think the same as me, even if his actions is beyond our imagination and gives some of us reason to doubt it. He loves you, Bella. The way he looks at you, while you don't notice it, the way he talks about you... And I bet on my closet, that right now, in this moment, he is sitting in his apartment, wishing you were with him."

"You broke his heart a few minutes ago, you are aware of it, are you not?"

"He broke mine, first."

"So very true." Rosalie agreed. "What are you going to do?" she asked carefully, but Bella got what she really wanted to ask with her answer. Would she ever be able to forgive him? To give him a chance again? She didn't know.

She threw a glance at her ring finger. Today should have been the day where she was flying with him on a plane to their honeymoon. But a honeymoon could never be when the groom was caught cheating on the bride just minutes away from the vows in front of God. With her hand, she covered the bare spot and looked up to the sky. How long had they been together? But what really mattered was that they were happy. When she looked back, she could only see the happy memories, perfect moments.

Funny how only one moment, where the magic was broken, ruined it all.


End file.
